January
Ringing in the New Year
💅🏼 Yes I do want to amass a collection of sparkly, gold, low cut, and otherwise impractical but pretty things to wear and swap with friends and go out or stay in in
Wearing an opulent outfit at home is the superior way to spend New Year’s Eve. Each year, regardless of location, I’ve made sure my New Year’s Eve outfit had at least one of two components: an unexpected dose of drama or a piece of self-determined luxury (bonus points for both).
🧴 A list of 25 self-care resolutions in the truest sense of that overused word. 2023 will be the year I start wearing sunscreen every day, get rid of uncomfortable pants, and reread this piece again and again.
🫶 Year in review poetry by my muse J. Lew
☕ Spent a sunny January morning answering these questions in a coffee shop with Tim
How It’s Starting…
🗓️ A new ritual for tracking highlights throughout the year via this cute free Notion template
🩰 ISO a new hobby and Anna Miller’s SYTYCD audition (season 17 is currently on Hulu) is making me want to dust off my old jazz shoes
🎟️ Fulfilling a longtime dream of making fun plans in January that I can look forward to for later in the year - so far I’ve booked tickets to three concerts, a cooking class, and a trip to Cancun (!!)
⚡ Things are shockingly possible (this year’s motto is from Adam JK)
🎧 January Songs:
Me, I've got my own little magic
And I'm not tryna wreak havoc
It's just that sometimes I see something and I just need to have it
New Year New Friends
Out of all the cutely doodled topics on NPR’s Resolutions Planner I’m starting with make new friends, and this advice from two of my friendship queens (Heather Havrilesky and Rachel Wilkerson Miller!) feels the right amount actionable and reassuring.
“People assume that everybody already has their friends, I got to tell you, nobody already has their friends. Deciding to assume that other people also need friends is crucial to making said friends.”
“It's OK to treat friendship as seriously as you would dating. Having friends is one of the most nourishing parts of being alive, so it's not weird or bad or wrong to prioritize it.”
🌻 A friend-growing tip from Marisa G. Franco:
Repot a relationship to make it a friendship. “Repotting” means varying the settings in which you interact. The more we repot a friendship, the deeper the friendship. Repotting looks like asking a neighbor, or colleague, who you've been wanting to get to know better, to go for a walk or join you for tea.
Wintering
❄️ Perfect timing for this library hold to finally be ready
“Doing those deeply unfashionable things - slowing down, letting your spare time expand, getting enough sleep, resting - are radical acts these days, but they are essential.”
Wintering: The Power of Rest and Retreat in Difficult Times // Katherine May
🕯️ A playlist for cold, dark nights. Also just discovered (probably super late) that Spotify lets you organize playlists into folders…let’s just say I was in for the night at that point
🛋️ Re: the overwhelming darkness that is winter in the PNW, we got smart bulbs to use as sunrise lamps in the morning, daylight supplements during work, and a cozy warm glow in the evening and it’s given me LIFE